1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus, more particularly to an apparatus for selecting a specific denomination of coins and counting a predetermined number of the coins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a coin handling apparatus, specifically in a coin sorting and wrapping apparatus, conventionally a predetermined denomination of coin is selected from a plurality of denominations of coins in response to the width of the coins to be wrapped by a wrapping sheet in the form of a stack of a predetermined number of coins. In order to exclude larger coins in diameter than the predetermined denomination of coins among many denominations of coins introduced to the apparatus, Japanese Utility model publication No. 62-30141 discloses a larger coin excluding mechanism of a coin handling apparatus wherein coins larger in diameter than a predetermined denomination of coins climb up to a slant surface formed at one side of a curved coin handling path because of the larger diameter so that the larger coins are separated from other coins which are conveyed along the curved path. However, in order to perform a reliable separation of the larger coins in this mechanism, the length of the curved coin handling path tends to increase to thereby make the apparatus large in size. Further, there is a possibility that some larger diameter coins on the surface of the curved path is happened to be carried to the next section without being excluded.
There has been proposed in Japanese Patent application No. 62-65348 which is assigned by the same assignee as the present application, a coin handling apparatus similar to the above apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-30141. In this apparatus, the larger coin than the predetermined coin is urged against a lead wall of the path at one side by means of a conveyer belt which is adapted to convey all the coins introduced into the path and is led on the slant surface of the path at the other side to be excluded from the path.
Coins other than the larger coins excluded are introduced along the lead wall into a next section in which the smaller coins than the predetermined denomination of coins are excluded. However, this apparatus is disadvantageous in that some of the predetermined denomination of coins or the smaller coin might be excluded from the path because of an insufficient force produced by the conveyor belt for urging the coins against the lead wall.
Moreover, it is difficult to control the width of the path because it is curved in the separating zone, As a result, it is likely to fail to separate the larger coins properly.